South’s long-serving top cop off to capital
Southern police officers will have a new leader on Monday now that Superintendent Paul Basham has been promoted to the role of assistant commissioner investigations.
A police spokesperson said that, as of Monday, Superintendent Jason Guthrie would be relieving as commander of the southern police district.
Basham would begin his new role in late March at the police national headquarters in Wellington, and he was currently on leave.
He was one of the longest-serving commanders of the southern police district, which is the largest geographical police district in the country and is headquartered in Dunedin.
In his new role, Basham would make use of his previous experience in criminal investigations, both at home and abroad, the spokesperson said.
Basham has led the southern police district since 2017.
“Moving to southern was an opportunity for my family and I to live and work in the mainland, which was a big part of the attraction for the role,” he told the police’s Ten One magazine.
“We certainly have made the most of the experiences that living in this part of Te Waipounamu can offer.”
He has overseen a raft of major events and incidents, many of them laden with tragedy.
The list of such cases was “regrettably long”, he said, but came to mind in part for the “way our police family pulled together to support one another and our communities”.
They included “the impact of former constable Ben McLean’s murder of his wife in Invercargill just after I arrived in the district; attending a multiple fatal vehicle crash in Southland with Senior Sergeant Greg Ballantyne, Constable Julie Russell and other staff; and of course the recent death of Inspector James Ure”.
He said working with local mana whenua had been a highlight of his time in the district.
Police declined a request for an interview with Guthrie until he had his “feet under the desk” in his new role, the spokesperson said.